Disclaimer: If you aren't at least 18 or if sexually explicit material bothers you, then don't continue. If you don't think Xena and Gabrielle are lovers, don't read any further (or farther, whichever) if the idea bothers you. Oh, by the way, if you didn't already guess, the characters Xena and Gabrielle don't belong to me, and the people they belong to don't know about this as far as I know. I sure didn't tell them. And, no, I'm not making any money off this. Except for what's being quietly deposited in my Swiss bank account by Clinton for not writing about our affair, but nobody's supposed to know about that.

Author's note: I tried to stay as true to the series as possible, but I did take some liberties. I wasn't sure just when they were supposed to become lovers, so I just guessed, and tried to be as vague as possible.

Xena sat by the fire, rubbing smooth a carved penis with handsful of sand. Gabrielle was off gathering more wood, and Xena hoped to have her sanding done and her carving safely hidden before she returned. She hadn't gotten up the nerve yet to let her know how she felt, and she didn't want her to know about the carving if she didn't feel the same. She smiled, just thinking of her strawberry blonde best friend. It had taken her awhile to admit to herself she was attracted to the woman, and even longer to admit it wasn't just attraction -- it was love. She had no idea when it had happened, but she suspected it had been the first moment she'd seen her when she saved her and her village from slavers. She decided it didn't matter; the important part was convincing Gabrielle it was true.

She finished the sanding and admired her work. All she had to do was attach it to the adjustable leather harness she'd created and it'd be ready for use. She intended it more for Gabrielle's use on her since the younger woman was a virgin and she didn't really want to damage her barrier. The other woman might wish to marry someday and men didn't like thinking they weren't the first. But the more carnal part of her wanted the option in case the younger woman wanted to talk her into it. The idea of thrusting into her friend was incredibly exciting. She tore her mind away from the thought and hurriedly hid the carving in a saddlebag her friend never looked into.

She looked around camp, looking for something to do so her friend wouldn't be angry at her "idleness". She was struck by inspiration -- a way to look busy, please her friend, and a possible way to break the ice for some real pleasing. It was an unusually clear night -- she'd spread out a blanket and suggest stargazing. Gabrielle would of course have to come close -- into her arms, if she was lucky -- in able to get the best view. And if she was really lucky, she'd be seeing even more stars, and if she was really, really lucky, they wouldn't come from Gabrielle's mean right hook. She started carefully removing rocks and twigs from the area she'd selected. Her friend would be pleased for a clear place to sleep, even if she didn't go along with her plan. She was always complaining about sleeping on rocks.

Gabrielle stopped, almost dropping her armload of sticks in shock. Xena was crawling around on her hands and knees picking up debris from a large area beside the fire and placing it in a pile to one side. It was bigger than what she'd need for her bedroll, but she couldn't figure out what else her friend would be clearing an area for. So she was even more surprised when Xena picked up a blanket and carefully spread it out, crawling around to smooth all the wrinkles out, not folding it in half, but simply leaving it completely spread out. Even Xena didn't need that much space to sleep. Curiosity piqued, she hurried into the clearing that made their camp for the night. "Xena?" she said questioningly.

Xena glanced up, looking almost embarrassed and uncertain. Her friend usually looked so confident, it was startling every time she saw her look the least bit unnerved. Then she smiled -- was that shyness she saw? -- and said, "It's so clear; I thought we could stargaze for awhile. Want to?"

Had the Twilight Zone existed at that time, Gabrielle would've felt like she was in it. But since it didn't, she just felt really, really confused. "Um, sure" she finally answered, giving up. Soon she'd wake up and find out this was just a rock-induced dream. She had known sleeping on rocks would drive her crazy eventually. Apparently, it was already starting.

Xena grinned happily and started trying to find the best viewing spot on the blanket. Finally, she settled in the middle, and desperately gathered the courage to invite Gabrielle to lie in the curve of her arm. She looked up at her friend, and noticed she was looking at her like she knew one of them was crazy, but wasn't quite sure which one. Oh, great, she thought, mentally kicking herself. Now you've really blown it. No way is she going to want your body tonight. If ever. Aloud, she said, with more confidence than she felt, "C'mere. I think if you lay with your head on my shoulder, you can get a really good view."

Now Gabrielle was sure she had to be dreaming. She thought she had just heard her reserved friend actually suggest closeness. But this time, the thought she was
dreaming wasn't comforting. She'd love to take that step with her friend. She was a naturally affectionate person with people she cared about, so Xena's reserve was frustrating. She refused to think about why else it was frustrating, and smiled -- down, for once -- at her friend and agreed. She realized she was still holding the firewood and dropped it, then walked over to where Xena laid and awkwardly laid down close, wiggling closer still until she found a comfortable position in the curve of her friend's arm that did indeed give her an excellent view of the stars. She noticed that Xena had shucked her armor and leather in favor of her shift. She was too busy memorizing the warmth of her friend's body on her side, the slight twitching of powerful muscles under her head, the heady mixture of soap, horse, fish, smoke, and sweat that only Xena could manage to turn into a scent sweeter than the most expense of perfumes, to notice the stars, though.

If you think Xena was noticing the stars, then you're reading the wrong story, and must already be hopelessly confused by the whole wooden penis thing (pardon the pun). If this is the case, then just give up now. The story isn't going to get clearer. And might I suggest you find a different category to read?

Anyway, while Gabrielle was noticing Xena's nearness, Xena was noticing hers. Gabrielle fit so well in the curve of her arm. It felt so right -- the slight weight of her head, the warmth of it and her body, the mixture of scents that were Gabrielle: soap (the same soap she used, but somehow it smelled better on her friend), a little horse, a little fish, faint smoke, some sweat, something undefinable that was simply Gabrielle. The combination was incredibly arousing. She stopped thinking about that, taking a few deep breathes and focusing on what was supposed to be happening: stargazing. So she started pointing out constellations, not daring to turn her head to see if her friend was paying attention. Finally, she gave up. She couldn't pretend anymore. She had to tell her friend how she felt.

Well, that was the plan. When she turned her head to look at the younger woman, all she could see was her lips. Before she knew what she was doing, she was shifting position until she was laying on top of Gabrielle and kissing her soft, yielding lips gently, but urgently. She stopped as soon as she realized and searched her friend's face, looking for signs of acceptance or rejection. Gabrielle looked surprised, but she didn't seem disgusted or anything. She wasn't pulling away. As a matter of fact, she looked like she wanted more. Xena tentatively kissed her again. She didn't protest. Clearing her throat nervously, she whispered, "Gabrielle?", asking with look and tone if what was happening was okay; if she wanted it as much as she did. Gabrielle whispered, "Xena... I've never...", saying she did, but was scared. Then she wrapped her arms around her friend's strong body and hoped she never woke up.

Xena smiled reassuringly, whispering that she knew; that she had experience and would be gentle and take her time. Everything would be okay. Xena wanted their first time to be incredible for both of them; a night they never forgot. She never would've made it if her warrior's training hadn't given her such superb self-control. Never in all her previous affairs had she ever gotten so aroused, especially from giving another pleasure. Gabrielle was too inexperienced to know what to do while Xena slowly, thoroughly, lovingly explored every inch of skin as it was exposed as she slowly undressed her. Gabrielle wasn't sure if she was supposed to undress Xena too or not, so she just waited for Xena to let her know. Xena was too busy with her explorations to think about her partner's lack of experience. Well, she thought about it in regard to the physical part, but the mental part was forgotten. Xena kissed her way down Gabrielle's body, making several stops along the way. She kissed along her jawline to her ear, and stopped to nibble gently. Gabrielle moaned in pleasure as her level of arousal rose a couple notches. She'd never done more than share a few kisses on the lips, so everything Xena was doing was new and she couldn't believe what was happening. She was pretty sure she wasn't dreaming. Morphesis had never given her dreams like this before. It was too real.

Xena left Gabrielle's ear and slowly worked her way down to Gabrielle's breasts. She suckled them as erotically as possible, taking time to gently tug her nipples with her teeth. One of her lovers had done that once and it had sent her soaring. From Gabrielle's moans, she found it just as exciting. Her moans raised Xena's arousal, and the warrior had to force herself to keep her pace slow and her touch gentle. One part of her was terrified she'd hurt her friend in her excitement. Ever so slowly, Xena worked her way down to Gabrielle's feet, purposely saving the best for last. Gabrielle's moans were like an aphrodisiac, like a balm for her battered soul. She couldn't believe this was happening; that Gabrielle was allowing this. Soon, Xena's mouth was between Gabrielle's parted thighs, her big strong hands carefully massaging her spit-slick breasts. Gabrielle felt so many new feelings, she couldn't keep track of them all. The pleasure was greater than she'd ever imagined possible. This couldn't really be happening, but it had to be real -- even her imagination couldn't be that good. She just stored the sensations in a corner of her mind to sort out later. She looked down, watching Xena touching her, loving her desperately, thinking about how beautiful she was. She watched those big, blunt-nailed hands on her breasts, amazed at how gentle they were. She'd never seen Xena so gentle. She felt herself falling even deeper in love. She wanted to tell her so, but she wasn't sure if Xena loved her or was just horny. She didn't want to mistake sex for love. It'd be embarrassing to declare her love only to discover her feelings weren't returned.

Gabrielle gasped in pleasure and shock when she felt Xena's tongue touch her intimately. She'd never heard of anyone touching anyone like that before. Her body trembled. Each slow, gentle stroke of Xena's tongue made her moan. Soon, she heard herself moan, in a voice she'd never heard before, "Oh, please ...", not knowing what she was asking for. She felt Xena stop, and heard her whisper, her voice full of tenderness, "Shhh. Not yet. Soon." In what could've been minutes or hours, Gabrielle felt the pleasure build up until she couldn't stand it, and she exploded, screaming, "Oh, Xena!" and bucked against the cleverly invading tongue.

Xena thrilled at the sound of her name screamed in pleasure, and slowly moved up Gabrielle's body after her climax. She took the limp body into her arms, and tenderly stroked the soft, strawberry blonde hair of the other woman and tried to think of the words to explain her feelings. She felt so many things, so deeply, she didn't know how to say them. She cleared her throat nervously, and gathered her courage, heart pounding, and did her best to speak her heart. "Listen, I, um, don't know what to say. Except that I've been ... attracted to you for a while now, and this wasn't just sex to me. I meant it." Oh, smooth, she groaned to herself. That's really going to make it clear. Why didn't you just say "I love you"? That's what you meant to say.

Gabrielle was disappointed in one way -- she had hoped Xena loved her -- but relieved to find out what had just happened wasn't just sex. She smiled into Xena's shoulder and lied, "I'm attracted to you, too, Xena." She had her pride, even if she didn't have Xena's love. There was no way she could declare herself now.

They laid together quietly, both so much in love but unable to say so and hurting because of it. Gabrielle finally stirred and smiled shyly at Xena. "Um, so what do we do now?"

Xena smiled tenderly, and said,"We can do whatever you want. Sleep, look at the stars, whatever. Or you can touch me if you want. It's up to you."

Gabrielle gathered her nerve and whispered,"I'd like to touch you, but I don't know how."

"Let me show you ..."

And show her she did. Xena guided her friend through the entire process, telling her what she liked, what she wanted, what she needed. She held Gabrielle's hands and rubbed and stroked herself with them until she climaxed, shouting Gabrielle's name. They held each other as tightly as possible, and fell asleep in each other's arms, content.

Author's note: I bet you're wondering about the dildo. Yes, they did eventually use it. Xena just didn't want to rush things. And yes, Gabrielle loved it. And no, it didn't feel neglected. Or so it's psychologist said. Or was it it's psychiatrist? Whichever one was the Freudian who told it it was a phallic symbol. It had thought it was the real thing. So to speak. I bet you didn't know dildoes could be psychoanalyzed. Well, you're wrong. But that's another story.

Comments? Questions? You can email me at . Please be gentle. This is my first time.